


Jacob's Dream Journal (But not really)

by MinervaMaughan



Category: Xafrin DND
Genre: Adventurers, Ambiguous dream details, Assassination Attempt(s), Dog - Freeform, Dreamscapes, Drinking, F/M, Family, It's really all a dream, Sort Of, Vague mentions of backstory, animal companion, dnd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22279654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinervaMaughan/pseuds/MinervaMaughan
Summary: Some experts say we dream at least four to six times a night. During a rare night in the catacombs, none of Jacob Jason's dreams manifest as the nightmares that have plagued him since the battle with Eredas.
Relationships: Jacob & Arthara, Jacob & Fealee, Jacob Jason & Alyssa Jason, Jacob Jason/Salaniea Harpoon, Supply and Demand





	Jacob's Dream Journal (But not really)

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, around the time we started moving again, I got the idea to roll a d20 every time Jacob sleeps to see how well he does since his mental state is a little volatile at the moment. The last time I did this, I got a Natural 20 and interpreted that to mean not only does he rest very well and is energized in the morning, but also he has pleasant dreams. I got a little carried away from there, but I'm always excited to see my boy happy these days.

This night, Jacob drifts off to sleep comfortably and has several dreams throughout the night, all pleasant for once. In one, he's walking through a lively, colorful city with an adventurer's pack on his back and an ambiguous companion, cast as some face he's seen in passing at a tavern and promptly forgotten. The duo wanders the streets, joking about the locals and debating whether it's worth the money to buy one of the little trinkets or perhaps a fresh fruit from the street vendors. His companion decides on a small, but intricately painted figurine of an owl, saying that their little girl back home would love it. Reportedly, the companion's daughter holds an interest in falconry. Suddenly, the two of them have arrived at a busy adventurers' guild. Jacob chats with a couple of adventurers while his friend turns in a quest they just completed, something about gnolls. At this table are a few faces he does not recognize alongside Mal and Vàli, people he does not know in this imaginary world, simply thrown in with the rest of the background cast. He does not remember how this dream ends.

In another, he and Alyssa have been tasked with defending a peaceful goblin tribe deep in the forest. Unlike reality, all of the goblins in this tribe are like Nixie; excitable and colorful with a penchant for crafting and collecting shiny things. Alyssa references the two of them having to fight back a large bear the previous day, but other than that the job feels more like babysitting. A goblin wearing a crown of daisies reaches up and tugs on his coat to get his attention. He crouches down and she chatters to him about some pretty stones she found the other day, and how she wants to make them into beads, asking him if he wants any. He glances toward a lot of the other goblins. His brain can’t retain most of their faces; he hasn’t seen enough goblins in real life to fill them in. Jacob ends up getting pulled into letting another goblin ‘make his hair pretty’. Alyssa lets the goblins take rides on Marcella, who is, for some reason, a powerful white tiger instead of a panther. 

After a while, the two stand off to the side, taking a breather. She comments on how the goblins have so much energy. He makes some jab about it being as chaotic as whenever he tried to watch her as kids. She huffs and flicks his arm before walking back into the center of the little village, petting her animal companion, who is now suddenly a lioness. Jacob laughs, rubbing his arm where the flick would have hurt him was this not a dream, and turns his gaze out to the forest. For a moment, his eyes meet a pair out in the shadows, some ambiguous threat that makes his blood run cold. He tenses and reaches into his bag to get something to defend himself, but blinks and the eyes are gone. He's frozen for a moment, until he feels another tug at his coat, directing his gaze toward the ground where a few of the goblins are looking at him, worried. One wearing Stagis's face---the one that got his attention---asks him what he's doing. The threat forgotten, Jacob pulls his flute out of his bag. He sits down, surrounded by these adorable goblin friends, and plays music as they dance and cheer, the one that looks like Stagis sitting and watching him with admiration, a gap-toothed grin spread across his face. 

In yet another, Jacob finds himself waking up at a desk, a wool blanket draped across his shoulders. He sits up and stretches, not bothering to look around, as he already knows he’s at home. He stands, taking the blanket with him, and leaves the room to find the most likely suspect for who placed it on him. As he walks, some fluffy dog-adjacent creature runs up to him and circles his legs as if trying to trip him. He pauses and absently pets them on the head, which apparently satisfies them enough to stop getting underfoot. The strange dog, white in color, bounds off down the hall. Jacob follows in the same direction, passing a door with flowers painted along the edges. He pauses slightly at this door, lightly knocking. When he doesn’t get an answer, he moves on. 

As he heads toward the kitchen, he spots the bright red hair of his wife. Smiling, he tries to approach quietly, closer, closer, until he’s right behind her. Now, he quickly embraces her, wrapping the blanket around both of them just as she starts turning toward him. Salaniea, being a rogue, heard him coming a mile away and is unfazed. She looks over her shoulder at him, unable to hold back a smile, and raises an eyebrow. Jacob wishes her 'good morning', grinning, and plants a kiss on her cheek. She laughs and tells him that he'll need to let her go soon so she can get to work; she's already having a bit of a later start than she planned. He doesn’t recall what she does for a living, but it doesn’t feel strange within the world of the dream. He grumbles something about how she should have woken him up, not actually feeling any resentment or frustration, only a little disappointed that they won't be able to spend much time together today. Salaniea frees an arm from the blanket, reaches back, and pats his head in faux sympathy, commenting that he had needed the extra rest with how tired he's been lately. Breakfast is on the table, which she explains she made for whenever he'd finally get up. She says that Aphy is taking Arwen to the park, and they'll likely bring Steel---the pet---with them to get some exercise. Jacob rests his head on her shoulder as she talks, drinking in her warmth. Eventually, he does let go, releasing her from their wool cage. She turns around and cups his face in her left hand, before leaning in and kissing him. The feeling of the silver wedding band on her finger contrasts with her skin, a detail that sticks out in his mind. After they pull away, she smiles at him and leaves with a soft 'I love you'. 

In the next dream, Jacob isn't even human. His reflection in the lake gives away that he appears to be something similar to a tabaxi, except with twisted horns and a longer snout. This does not register as odd in Jacob’s mind, as incredible things can be taken as fact within a dream. He runs along the very edge of the lake, occasionally stepping just a little too much to the side and splashing into the water. He doesn’t care though; he’s too focused on the small group of people on the other side. He can't quite count how many people are in the group; the number keeps shifting whenever he looks. About three of them, in particular, are always there though. One of these three, a copper dragonborn that he only knows within this false reality waves to him as she sees him approaching. Kiranni---he knows all of their names within this world, but hers is the only one he'll remember---grins toothily as he catches up. She slaps him on the back and makes some comment about how he looked like he was having fun. Jacob apologizes for making them late; they have a mission to do. 

The group heads out, always seeming to change a little when he looks at them. The only other two people that are constantly present whenever he checks are a seemingly human woman whom he knows is related to wolves in some way and a dark elf who keeps rubbing at his arms, which are covered in metallic strips seemingly melded into his skin. The rest of the group are all races that likely do not exist in the waking world, but make perfect sense to the inhuman Jacob of this dreamscape. They all wear matching uniforms, with certain alterations matching their different classes such as extra armor or mobility. The 'human' woman takes the lead, following a trail by smell. Jacob would be helping, but the flowers of the meadow they are walking through keep messing with his senses. Dang, he can't understand how the locals handle it. Good thing the woman is actually from this plane. 

After walking for a long time they're suddenly surrounded no longer by a meadow, but by snowy cliffs. At Kiranni's order, he immediately begins scaling the nearest cliff, achieving a higher vantage point. The vehicle has to be somewhere around here; they've completed their mission and need to report back to base. He calls down that he can't see it yet and the dark elf shouts back up at him with some snide remark about his vision. A towering figure among the inconsistent members of the party shuts him up real quick, thank you. Kiranni orders him to climb higher, up another cliff. As he obeys he loses sight of the rest of the team, and when he turns around again there is no trace they were ever there. However, he finds he doesn't care at this moment, for his spot up on the mountainside gives him a gorgeous view of the land. He sits down in the snow, not even feeling the cold, and admires it, using a clawed finger to trace the route his team took on their mission. 

In the next dream Jacob sees, he's dancing in a ballroom, participating in one of those stifling parties of judgment that Alma described to him. Everyone he talks to seems keen on showering him with flattery, and it's becoming a little ridiculous. He's convinced they're all secretly judging him behind his back, and considering he's the new guy, they probably are. There are a few familiar faces scattered in the crowd along with ones he can not recognize in or out of the dream. He dances with a carbon copy of Calliope out of courtesy at one point. Alyssa is briefly shown to be present as well, standing off to the side of the ballroom, wearing regular clothes instead of the finery that everyone else displays. 

Eventually, he makes eye contact with a waitress who tilts her head toward the door, the signal for him to excuse himself for the time being. Once he's snuck away from the party, he speaks to a pair of servants, who supply him with the venom he needs to complete his task here. He's already received half of the money upfront; the rest will be paid out after the deed is done. As Jacob walks back into the ballroom, the dreamscape suddenly shifts, and without explanation, he is walking through the courtyard in the middle of the day, still dressed up. He sees one of the servants from before, and he waves them over. After a short and tense discussion, Jacob thanks them, places a few gold coins in their hand, and leaves the palace. 

On his way out, he steals a horse and somehow doesn't come across a single guard. He rides away, putting as much distance between him and the city as possible, carrying in his bag the first half of the money he was paid for the job. He needs to find someplace to hide, where the crimelords won't find him and try to take back the initial payment. He grins to himself, feeling oddly free even though he can't go back. He'll never have to see those suckers' faces again. He has a friend out in the woods who would be happy to take him in and help him lay low for a bit. He's not sure how much advice she can give for running from the underground but he can figure something out. He'll probably have to cut his hair and maybe grow his beard out… makes it harder to recognize him. As night falls and his stolen horse gets tired, he decides to set up camp a little bit into the forest, away from the road. He can't light a fire but uses prestidigitation to warm his clothes, which aren't the fancy suit and polished shoes from the ball anymore. He spends a while just sitting against a tree, idly carving a fallen branch and very quietly humming to himself. Crickets chirp from all angles and fireflies dot the forest with ever-shifting lights. Despite the fact that he's alone at night in a forest while on the run, he feels entirely safe and at peace. 

The final dream Jacob has this night includes several members of the Chosen party cast as themselves. He starts off in what he knows is his home, walking around, gathering his things, putting his hair up, generally getting ready to go out. Birdy raises her head from where she's lying in the corner, watching him. Probably telling he's about to leave, she stands and quickly walks toward him, tail wagging. As much as he'd like to take her with him, animals aren't allowed where he's going, so she'll just have to play with Marcella out back. Before he leaves, he playfully scratches her behind the ears and kisses her head, telling her he'll be back. 

He isn't walking outside his house for long before he sees the tavern where he's meeting up with Arthara. As he enters, he notices the place is a lot smaller than it seemed and is already crowded despite the sky barely becoming dark. Thankfully, Arthara's signature red cloak is easy to spot, and he makes a beeline for her, sitting beside her at the bar. They both get drinks and just chat for a while, joking and catching up. Eventually, the conversation settles, and he absently stares at his glass while listening to the chatter of the other patrons. He catches snippets of gossip, climaxes of melodramatic adventures, tail-ends of rants, and whatever else he can pick out amongst the din. At one point, someone starts a drinking song, slamming their ale on the table to the rhythm as they sing in a boisterous voice. Jacob turns around in his barstool during this, singing along much more enthusiastically than he probably would if he had not already been partaking. 

A while after the song ends, he stands and leaves the tavern, finding himself back at home no sooner than he walked through the door. Except, there are more people there now. Arthara is in wolf form, wrestling and playing with Birdy while Marcella watches the dogs from the side like the two of them are lunatics. Alyssa and Aphy are sitting together just outside, getting on like a house on fire, discussing the various animals they've befriended. Solio is in another room, showing off his tricks to Keg and Nymirah, the latter of which doesn't seem too impressed. Stagis is peeking into the room from the doorway, practically buzzing with excitement. When Jacob returns to the main room, Nixie has wandered over to Marcella and is now petting her, admiring the big kitty while Sauna makes sure she doesn't get into trouble. Oath is playing music while floating in the middle of the room, high enough to be out of the way of Arthara and Birdy's roughhousing. Lastly, he notices Salaniea and Fealee off to the side, speaking about who-knows-what in another language. He leans on the wall next to Salaniea and talks for a few minutes before slipping into the kitchen to prepare food for everyone. Fealee follows him in, insisting that she make her own meal. Once they actually get started the two form sort of a compromise in that they both just work together on everything. He smiles as they work, listening to everyone else in the other rooms. 

Jacob slowly wakes up, gradually becoming aware of his tent surrounding him. He sits up and stretches, feeling more refreshed than he has since the beginning of this mission. Leaning back and supporting his weight with his arms, he closes his eyes for a moment, savoring fading memories of warmth, fur, adventure, and family. After a few minutes, he stands and begins preparing for another day of traversing the catacombs, a genuine smile on his face.


End file.
